Friday, March 19, 2010

Corned beef and cabbage dinner

I like the Irish, which is why I went out of my way to celebrate St. Patrick's Day with a slow cooked meal of corned beef and cabbage. Mind you, I don't have any Irish blood in me —at least none that I know of— but Italians and the Irish are kindred spirits. We are both easy going people who love to drink —who cares if we prefer wine and they favor beer?— we both like to celebrate life and we both have a good sense of humor. Unlike us, the Irish are not known worldwide for their fabolous food, which is a pity because they have some wonderful dishes everyone should try. Corned beef and cabbage is one of them and I found this Cooking Light version to be absolutely fantastic: the horseradish crust over the meat really gives it a kick and the lemony potatoes and cabbage round up the meal nicely. Eating the corned beef dinner and soda bread last night made me want to go to Ireland real bad, something I usually would disregard as a "maybe one day" kind of dream, but since soon I'll be in Europe with low cost flights at my fingertips, I think Dublin will see me sooner than later.

CORNED BEEF AND CABBAGE DINNER

From Cooking Light

1 (4-pound) cured corned beef brisket, trimmed

16 cups water

2 cups chopped onion

1 cup chopped celery

1 cup chopped carrot

1 1/2 teaspoons pickling spice

3 garlic cloves, peeled

Cooking spray

1 tablespoon caraway seeds

1 (2 1/2-pound) head green cabbage, cored and cut into 1-inch strips

4 pounds small red potatoes, quartered

2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley

2 teaspoons butter

2 teaspoons grated lemon rind

2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice

1/8 teaspoon black pepper

1/2 cup dry breadcrumbs

1 (5-ounce) jar prepared horseradish, drained and squeezed dry

3 tablespoons Dijon mustard

Place brisket in a large stockpot; add water and next 5 ingredients (water through garlic). Bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 3 hours. Remove brisket from pot.
Place brisket on the rack of a broiler pan or roasting pan coated with cooking spray; place rack in pan. Strain cooking liquid through a colander into 2 large bowls; discard solids. Return liquid to pot. Add caraway seeds and cabbage; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer 20 minutes. Drain.
While cabbage is cooking, place potatoes in a large Dutch oven. Cover with water. Bring to a boil; cook 20 minutes or until tender. Drain. Return potatoes to pan. Stir in parsley, butter, rind, juice, and pepper; toss to coat.
Preheat broiler.
Combine breadcrumbs and horseradish. Spread mustard over one side of brisket. Press breadcrumb mixture onto mustard. Broil 3 minutes or until lightly browned. Serve brisket with cabbage and potatoes.

Me, in a nutshell

I'm a cook, a writer, a journalist, a daughter, a girlfriend, a cat owner, a drinker, a sister, a traveler, a dual citizen, a skier, a scuba diver, a photographer and, as of recently, a Swiss resident.